Pep Guardiola has claimed that Manchester City have “no players” as they prepare for Thursday’s League Cup clash with Liverpool at the Etihad.
The Sky Blues defeated Spanish side Girono 2-0 in a friendly yesterday with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland on the scoreboard, but the former Barcelona manager is concerned about the number of players he still doesn’t have after his World Cup run. in Qatar.
“We have no players,” the Spaniard told internal city media (via Manchester Evening News). “Four or five players [are here] so we have to see how and when [all] Returns.
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“We are in a difficult moment [position]. We don’t have players, but the big brains in football made this schedule, so we’re going to play this game.”
Since both Liverpool and City have a number of players who have represented England, Portugal and the Netherlands in the Middle East, those players have yet to return to club training after being knocked out at the quarter-final stage of the world Cup.
Jurgen Klopp recently confirmed that Virgil Van Dijk is unlikely to feature against the Premier League champions, while the German tactician said he has yet to decide whether Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold will earn minutes when we begin our Champions League defense. the league.
Guardiola was asked about which of his players will return to the fold in the coming days.
“Some players are coming now, yes, in the next few days,” he added.
“Step by step they will meet the people here. natan [Ake]aymeric [Laporte] and Rodri come back and then the English and Portugal come back.
Certainly both sides will not be in top form on Thursday, but we still look set for an intriguing encounter.
The two clubs have become great rivals in recent years, fighting for trophies both at home and in Europe.
After our trip to Manchester, we return to Premier League action, taking on Aston Villa away from home on Boxing Day before hosting Leicester at Anfield on December 30.
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